Ellen DeGeneres was a victim of sexual misconduct, too

Ellen DeGeneres during a commercial break in taping of the Ellen Show in Burbank, Los Angeles

PHOTO: REUTERS

In a recent episode of her show, Ellen DeGeneres spoke about the struggles of sexual assault survivors with her guest, actress Busy Phillips, who revealed in an Instagram post that she was raped at age 14.

"I was so moved by [Dr. Ford's] bravery," she said. "And it wasn't something that I felt like I was ever going to blast out on social media, but when I saw her standing there, speaking her truth after 30 years, I was like, 'It's been 25 [years] for me and I can do this. I can do this. We can all do this.'"

She added: "And I feel like it's, politically whatever you believe, I feel like it's a real moment of reckoning for women that we have, sort of collectively, carried this burden for so long and it's time to share it and let it out. It was hard. And really scary."

In turn, Ellen revealed that she had a similar experience. "I was 15 and I had something happen to me. When I watched Dr. Ford, anyone who's had something happen to them, you just get so angry when someone doesn't believe you or says, 'Why did you wait so long?' It's because we're girls and we're taught not to say anything and go along with it."

Busy and Ellen are just some of the stars who finally found their voice as sexual assault survivors to remind us just how real and upsetting this longstanding social issue is, and it needs to be addressed now.